An article for teh Gazette, written in 1941 by Kate Worman Emmons is reprinted below (25 July 1967)

I am honored and happy to have a chance to recall the days when I attendedschool in Rock Falls. My first day in the Rock Falls school was about he fist of April, 1876. Cassie Gassenschmidt (Mrs. Frank McFalls) and Vannie Breslauer (Mrs. Henry Fry), neighbor girls took me down. Coming from a large, crowded, impersonal school room in one of Chicago's north side schools, to the small third grade room in the city hall, the change was terrifying. When the teacher punished one of the girls near me, I was ready to quit.

Miss Lizzie Vernon was my first teacher and Professor Brodie was the last, on June 5, 1884.

My first boy acquaintance was Bob Harper, who would bring me cookies from his father's bakery on the north side of Main street, across from what is now Sowles dry goods store. Then there were the two Armstrong boys, "Daddy" and Ed, who would take me home on their sled and defend me when some of the big boys tried to take a ring from my finer. There was Clarence Kittell, son of dr. Kittell, who had a drug store where Alex McNeil once had a hardward store, and Charlie Kern who lived next to the M ethodist Church, and the Baldwin boys whose mother had a millinery store.

I recall the bell which was rung from a window and the well between the two frame school houses where we had to take turns pumping.

Of my teachers I recall Miss Sally Murphy, at one time the librarian of the Sterling library, and Miss Kittie Worrell, whom I think was a cousin of Miss Elizabeth Coe. I used to take her gingerbread baked by my grandmother.

In the eighth grade Miss Aggie McNeil, daughter of Robert McNeil, was my teacher. My special boyfriend in this grade was "Griff" Titus, the bad boy of the room.

I started high school under Prof. B.F. Hendricks. There was Anna Alpress who was always willing to help a freshman, or a "lazy C' as we were called, adn Phillip Smith, ready with an answer to a difficult problem.

Our class members of 1884 were: George Brown, son of Burris Brown, Carl Stahl, Fred Lindsley, Frankie Price and myself. Others of the class who did not finish included Ulysses Long, who sat back of me and took great pleasure in dipping the ends of my red pigtails in his ink well. The monitors filled the ink wells from quart bottles and managed to get ink over everyone.

Tinnie Melburg (Mrs. Robert McIlmoyl) was my particular friend. The two Reynold boys from the country, Charlie and Bob, were great scholars and grand boys.

My eldest son, Lehmon, was born in 1888 and was the first child born to a graduate of the Rock Falls high school.

Illinois - "Our Way"